1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a housing arrangement with at least one junction box, a base part and a cover, the junction box having a square housing, in the housing there being a terminal strip which has at least one terminal for electrical connection of an electric cable or a line, and the housing having at least one opening for an electric cable or line. In addition, the invention relates to a junction box with a square housing and with at least one terminal strip which has at least one terminal for electrical connection of an electric cable or a line, the housing having at least one opening for the electric cable or the line.
2. Description of Related Art
Junction boxes, which are often also called wiring boxes, outlet boxes, or cable boxes, are known in manifold versions. If it is a matter of connecting a cable to an electrical device or a machine, the box is called an outlet box. If two cables or lines are to be connected to one another, the box is called a junction box. Generally, the outlet box and the junction box are made essentially identically so that any below reference to a junction box is always intended to encompass an outlet box as well.
These boxes generally have a bottom part and a cover which can be attached by screws onto the bottom part. The known boxes have different cross-sectional configurations, and in their interior, the terminals for electrical connection of an electric cable or a line are arranged differently. Generally, instead of individual terminals, continuous terminal strips are used which have several terminals. German Patent Application No. DE 43 20 261 A1 discloses attaching the terminals to the floor of the bottom part of the housing. The terminals can be fixed on the floor of the box by additional fasteners, for example, by screws. In addition, the molding of projections on the floor onto which the terminals can be slipped is also known.
The core of an electric cable can be connected to each terminal. Instead of electric cables which are used for transmission of current, therefore, which supply a system or machine with the necessary operating current or the necessary operating voltage, electric lines which are used primarily, or in addition, to transmit electrical signals, i.e., for data transmission, can also be connected to the junction boxes. This is the case, for example, in so-called sensor-actuator systems. The junction boxes are thus used as mechanical protection for the terminals which are located in the interior and as electrical protection for the electrical connection which is established on the terminals between the different cables or lines. The housing of the junction boxes therefore generally are made of a plastic which satisfies the respective requirements, with a corresponding safety class, for example, IP 66 or higher.
These junction boxes are often located together in a plurality in control cabinets, the bottom parts often having attachment possibilities, for example, hooks or holes, for mounting of the junction boxes on a mounting rail or to a mounting wall. To connect the individual junction boxes to one another, bottom parts are known which have hooks on their side walls so that several junction boxes can be connected to one another to form a housing arrangement, the individual junction boxes being located in one plane next to one another and on top of one another. However, the disadvantage here is that, for the molded-on hooks, there is the danger that they will break off, at least when the junction boxes are repeatedly connected to one another and disconnected again. Moreover, the locking of the individual junction boxes which can be achieved by the hooks is not especially reliable when the housing arrangement is exposed to mechanical stress, for example, during vibrations.